


Fables, Friends, and Food

by Brynhildr



Series: 40 Days Of Middle Earth [17]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Bilbo in the Shire, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Grief/Mourning, This was so fluffy what happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-28 23:11:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13914159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brynhildr/pseuds/Brynhildr
Summary: Balin has come to visit Bilbo in the Shire





	Fables, Friends, and Food

"Frodo, come here!" Bilbo called out the side window. He couldn't see his nephew, but he could hear him giggling further down in the garden. "And bring young Samwise with you! Luncheon is ready!" 

Bilbo stuck his head back into the kitchen and put the finishing touches on the lunch platters before bringing them to the table. 

"They should be inside in a minute," Bilbo said to Balin as he sipped a cup of that dark drink dwarves seemed to love so much (but Bilbo secretly thought tasted like slightly burned tree bark) and smiled.

"I am glad I was able to stop by on my way. It has been far too long since any of our company has seen you face to face, and ravens can only carry so much." The older dwarf sighed. "It is good to be around young ones again." He said softly.

"Are there not many dwarven children in Erebor?" Bilbo asked as he passed Balin a basket of soft rolls.

"There are not many dwarven children at all, let alone in Erebor. We have very few dwarrowdams and many of those are married to their craft. Those that do have children only have one or two. It is not an easy process and some lose their lives." Balin looked grave.

"It seems hobbits have the opposite problem," Bilbo said trying to lighten the mood. "We have children far too easily and they have taken over!" 

Frodo and Sam chose that moment to run in the room showing off their recently washed hands.

"Uncle Bilbo! I found a little tomato! It is so tiny!" Frodo exclaimed in excitement. "Sam said that the tomatoes in his garden haven't started growing at all yet."

"Those are a different variety that blooms earlier," Bilbo explained. "They will be ready for an earlier harvest and will taste different than the Gamgee's tomatoes. Now, pass the butter to Master Balin."

"Yes, Uncle!" Frodo beamed as he passed the butter dish carefully into the dwarf's hands. "Did you enjoy your morning, Master Balin?"

"I did, indeed! Your uncle was telling me all about the Shire and how you and your friends enjoy exploring it together!"

"Oh, yes! We've gone looking for elves in the woods, but we've never seen them," Sam said rather sadly. "Not any dwarves neither.” 

"Well, most dwarves do not walk through the Shire, as our main traveling roads go around your land, but surely you see more of us than you do of the elves. They are silent as they walk and very sneaky." Balin said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Yes, and dwarves make so much racket tromping through the would with those big heavy boots on that you could hear them coming from miles away." Bilbo joked. Frodo giggled and grabbed another slice of quiche.

"No resep- reskep- respect"

"Respectable," Bilbo supplied.

"No respectable hobbit would ever wear boots!" Sam stated adamantly with a nod of his head.

"Well, laddie, hobbits do have much larger and more durable feet than any other race I've met on this earth." Balin said to the young boy.

"Well, I do think Beorn can claim the largest, but hobbit feet are the most durable!" Bilbo  interjected.

"Tell us the story of Mister Beorn!" Frodo said as he leaned forward on the table, almost rising out of his seat in excitement.

"Well, when I first saw Beorn, he was not standing on two feet like a hobbit, but on four in the form of a gigantic bear!" Bilbo began. Balin leaned back and enjoyed the hobbit's retelling of their meeting with the skinchanger, laughing at his descriptions of the giant bees and serving dogs. Bilbo had a gift for story telling and soon all three of them at the table had fallen under Bilbo's spell.

Bilbo was halfway through the story of wandering in Mirkwood when he realized that Sam had fallen asleep.

"Well, the story will keep. Let's put you both to bed for a nap and we can continue the story after tea." 

Bilbo picked Sam gently up in his arms and followed a drooping Frodo down the hallway to tuck them both into bed.

Returning to the kitchen, he sat again with Balin who was just finishing up the roasted chicken and quiche on his plate.

"They are so young, they still tire in the afternoons. I forget." Bilbo smiled.

"You make a good guardian to young Frodo," Balin said. "They remind me of Fili and Kili, when they were small. Always wanting to learn How and Why something worked and wouldn't rest until they knew everything they could about it." He fell silent.

"You miss them," Bilbo said gently.

"Aye," the dwarf concurred, his gaze turning misty and far away.

Bilbo swallowed thickly, tears welling in his eyes and refusing to be shed. He had cried too many tears over his fallen friends. Never enough to make the pain go away entirely. He missed the boys' smiles and playful antics and Thorin's gruff nature and surprisingly tender hugs. He missed them so much it ached. It sometimes hurt to even breathe.

"As do I," he whispered. 

He and Balin sat in silence, sharing their grief and a pot of tea.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure how this went from fluffy to depressing so quickly, but I didn't want to change it. Thank you for reading, again! 
> 
> Another story (or maybe another chapter in Many Paths & Errands, I'm not sure how much time I'll have) tomorrow! See you then!


End file.
